[Dsg03svt]

Brewfixer - I started looking more into isolators and had a question about how they should be wired up. Here are two different sources that give two different ways to wire it in. Which is correct?

http://www.boatfix.com/how/Battery4.jpg

http://www.thejump.net/fishingarticl...integrator.jpg

[Brewfixer]

The switch is different than the battery isolator. The isolator prevents over charging of the batteries in a multi battery system. Attached is a simple isolator diagram
Battery Isolator and Switch Schematic.jpg
. The particular one in my boat is from Mastervolt (BI 1202-S | Mastervolt Marine).
Battery Isolator.jpg

As for the power wire, a 12ga wire should work fine and you should be able to snake it down the starboard side from the engine compartment to the console without drilling any holes. You may need to remove a cupholder, speaker, etc... to help see behind the panels. I just used an electrical fish tape. In my previous post i mentioned solenoid but i meant relay. I also attached a simple relay diagram. You can pick these up fairly cheap at Radio Shack.
I can not remember the wire color for the accessory wire but I just used a meter and found the wire that was hot (12 vdc) only when the ignition switch is in the accessory position.



Stereo Relay.pdf

[Brewfixer]

Originally Posted by Dsg03svt

Brewfixer - I started looking more into isolators and had a question about how they should be wired up. Here are two different sources that give two different ways to wire it in. Which is correct?

Your links broke up.

[Dsg03svt]

Originally Posted by Brewfixer

Your links broke up.

I took out the image tag so they should now work by clicking on them.

[Brewfixer]

Originally Posted by Dsg03svt

I took out the image tag so they should now work by clicking on them.

Yup you got it. Essentially the same as the drawing i loaded. the key is that if one of the batteries is fully charged and the other isnt, the isolator would direct the charge to the battery that needs it thus preventing over charging and short battery life.

[Dsg03svt]

Originally Posted by Brewfixer

Yup you got it. Essentially the same as the drawing i loaded. the key is that if one of the batteries is fully charged and the other isnt, the isolator would direct the charge to the battery that needs it thus preventing over charging and short battery life.

Gotcha.

And this could also be contributing to the issue of the radio not turning on until the engine reaches a certain RPM?

[Brewfixer]

Originally Posted by Dsg03svt

Gotcha.

And this could also be contributing to the issue of the radio not turning on until the engine reaches a certain RPM?

Good possibility... Do you know how the batteries are being charged currently? Did they run the altenator wire to both batteries directly or through the switch? You may want to have your batteries tested to see if one is on it's last leg.

When I purchased my boat i had 2 batteries but it was one circuit and one of the batteries would not hold a good charge. I often would have dead batteries if i cranked the tunes for an extended period of time even while running. So I purchased a new battery and converted the other 2 into house(accessory) batteries.

[Dsg03svt]

Originally Posted by Brewfixer

Good possibility... Do you know how the batteries are being charged currently? Did they run the altenator wire to both batteries directly or through the switch? You may want to have your batteries tested to see if one is on it's last leg.

When I purchased my boat i had 2 batteries but it was one circuit and one of the batteries would not hold a good charge. I often would have dead batteries if i cranked the tunes for an extended period of time even while running. So I purchased a new battery and converted the other 2 into house(accessory) batteries.

Do I need to install the relay if my headunit already has a wire dedicated to the accessory switch wire?

I'm thinking that I just need to supply the clean power from the battery to the headunit and then the headunit will use the accessory wire to act as a relay within the headunit. Correct?

I re-read the headunit instructions and it states "when no boat circuits are rated high enough, connect the unit directly to the battery"

[Brewfixer]

Originally Posted by Dsg03svt

Do I need to install the relay if my headunit already has a wire dedicated to the accessory switch wire?

I'm thinking that I just need to supply the clean power from the battery to the headunit and then the headunit will use the accessory wire to act as a relay within the headunit. Correct?

I re-read the headunit instructions and it states "when no boat circuits are rated high enough, connect the unit directly to the battery"

It will drain your Acc battery when not in use. Your orange (typical) wire will go directly to your batt for memory but your red will need to be switched.
Ofcourse the instructions tell you that you can install red directly to batt but that is most common on smaller outboard engines boats where the acc position is not available on the key switch.

You can also just run a switch or if you have a spare rocker on the dash use that but that can be left on and then have the same result as if you just directly wired into the battery.

I did the relay for convnience / safety and after many beers I would definitely be pushing the boat home. With the relay I am just using it to power up the acc battery circuit and that is it. no other power is being drawn from my starting battery.

[Dsg03svt]

Originally Posted by Brewfixer

It will drain your Acc battery when not in use. Your orange (typical) wire will go directly to your batt for memory but your red will need to be switched.
Ofcourse the instructions tell you that you can install red directly to batt but that is most common on smaller outboard engines boats where the acc position is not available on the key switch.

You can also just run a switch or if you have a spare rocker on the dash use that but that can be left on and then have the same result as if you just directly wired into the battery.

I did the relay for convnience / safety and after many beers I would definitely be pushing the boat home. With the relay I am just using it to power up the acc battery circuit and that is it. no other power is being drawn from my starting battery.

Went out to the boat yesterday and it turned out a much easier day than expected (for now).

The current radio was a Sony, so when I took it out, I realized the harness was exactly the same (minus the illumination wire). So I decided to try out using the wire harness already there before cutting it off and using the new one. This ended up working perfectly. I did not see any ill-effects of this. Install took maybe 25 minutes. I do not know how the power wire was run in the previous setup but I figured I'd see if I noticed any bad side effects before running one of my own.

Started the boat up and took it out for a spin and everything was running as to be expected. In fact, I believe that the problem I was having at low RPM was due to the fact that I had the battery switch in the wrong position. When cruising I would have the switch at the "1" position rather than "All". Once I ran it with "All", the low-rpm issue was gone. I did not notice any bad effects of using the power wire that was already supplied.

Thoughts about the setup - I really like the Sony DSX-MS60 receiver. The ease of use is incredible, the look is great, and I do like the ability to store my iPod/iPhone away inside the receiver (out of the way and secure). The sound is great, however, the boat does still lack a subwoofer to get the lows. Right now I have two Polk speakers installed and it can get plenty loud for passengers on the boat and while driving the boat. Swimming off the boat is fairly quiet.

It's May now so i'm hopefully only a couple weeks away from receiving my wake tower so I need to start researching what items I'm going to purchase to complete the sound system.